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1178965

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	High Speed 2 Line: Forests
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect ancient woodlands that will be affected by the HS2 development.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	18877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>HS2 is an exceptionally important infrastructure project, and there are significant compensation packages in place to mitigate for the unavoidable loss of 39.2 hectares resulting from HS2.</p><p>HS2 is using a combination of approaches to compensate for the ancient woodlands lost during construction, including soil translocation from affected ancient woodlands to other woodlands to improve their biodiversity, restoring existing ancient woodland and planting new woodland.</p><p>The HS2 Woodland Fund is the compensation strategy for ancient woodland loss, with £5 million provided for HS2 Phase 1. This has been made available to fund projects that will help support woodland creation, as well as restore and enhance woodland on private land or in partnership with multiple landowners. This fund is overseen by the Forestry Commission. £1.6 million of this fund has already been committed, supporting around 121 hectares of new native woodland creation and the restoration of 174 hectares of plantations within ancient woodland sites. £2 million more has been provisionally allocated for Phase 2a.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/03/2020 15:26:01 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1238714

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Air Pollution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to align the UK's target for PM2.5 with the World Health Organisation's guideline amount.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	97045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>In July 2019, the Government published a report assessing the progress that will be made towards World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines under a range of scenarios. The report concluded that while significant progress would be made by achieving existing 2030 emissions ceilings, additional action would be required in large urban areas such as London to achieve the current WHO guideline level. The analysis did not outline a pathway to achieve the WHO guideline level for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the country and did not take into account full economic viability and practical deliverability.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Bill, which will be introduced shortly, will establish a legally binding duty to set a target for PM2.5, demonstrating our commitment to action on the air pollutant that has the most significant impact on human health. We are committed to setting ambitious targets and following an evidence-based process, seeking advice from a range of experts, in addition to giving consideration to the WHO’s air quality guidelines. We are already working with independent experts and engaging with stakeholders on how we will approach setting these targets.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/10/2020 12:12:15 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1258436

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Recreation Spaces
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legally binding targets on widespread access to nature and green space.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	125314
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2020 answer text <p>Defra is currently undertaking a number of measures to improve widespread access to nature and green space. The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our comprehensive and long-term approach to protecting and enhancing our natural landscapes in England for the next generation and to helping people improve their health and wellbeing by using green spaces. There is lots of work already ongoing to deliver on this approach, such as the National Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards for England, the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the Green Social Prescribing Project, the Children and Nature Programme, the financial provisions of the Agriculture Act 2020 through the Environmental Land Management scheme, the England Coast Path and a new northern National Trail based on Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Bill will give the Secretary of State the power to set long-term, legally binding environmental targets across the breadth of the natural environment. It will specifically require the government to set at least one target each in four priority areas: air quality, biodiversity, water, and waste reduction and resource efficiency. The power to set targets will not be limited to these four priority areas. Long-term targets could be set in respect of any matter which relates to the natural environment, or people’s enjoyment of it, to drive significant improvement of the environment.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/12/2020 17:38:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1289033

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2021
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Watersure
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including (a) people in receipt of attendance allowance and (b) additional benefit recipients in the qualification criteria for the WaterSure Scheme, as outlined in the Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	157314
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2021 answer text <p>To be eligible for WaterSure, customers must be in receipt of means tested benefits, which provides an appropriate measure for assessing income, and have either three or more children under 19 or a medical condition requiring the extra use of water.</p><p> </p><p>Attendance Allowance is not included as an eligible benefit as it is a non means-tested benefit. Without an income-related criterion, those who are able to afford their water bill may receive financial support funded by other lower income households.</p><p> </p><p>Since the introduction of WaterSure, the legislation has been updated to add and remove benefits, making sure that WaterSure continues to support those most in need of assistance. The Government does not intend to change the eligibility criteria for WaterSure at this time.</p><p> </p><p>Water companies also offer social tariffs, payment breaks, payment matching, debt advice and referral arrangements, and some have independent charitable trusts that make awards to help customers in times of need. The eligibility criteria for social tariffs is not set by the Government, allowing water companies to address the local and regional needs of their customers.</p><p> </p><p>We have asked the independent Consumer Council for Water to undertake a review of existing financial support schemes to ensure consumers who struggle with their water bills can get the support they need. The review will be published this spring.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/03/2021 16:49:29 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1179983

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Flood Control: Prestolee
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Environment Agency has to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee, Bolton South East constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	19803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>The Environment Agency (EA) has removed sediment from the River Irwell since Storm Eva, assessed the viability of temporary defences and sprayed invasive species on the river bank so that construction of any potential flood wall can be done as efficiently as possible if this proves to be a feasible option. The EA has also supported the creation of a flood group who can share project updates, share real time flood information and flood forecasts, and gather knowledge and experiences to help understand the flood risk and help develop practical options.</p><p> </p><p>Running parallel to this, the EA has been working hard with its partners, including Bolton Council, to understand flood risk in Prestolee and Stoneclough and to develop measures that could be put in place to reduce that risk. The EA has surveyed the River Irwell at this location and completed a Strategic Business Case for a potential flood scheme. The next phase is to identify a preferred option. There is a funding gap to deliver the construction phase of this project and partners will need to step forward to close this before detailed design or construction can commence. The EA is holding a community drop-in session on 11 March 2020 to provide residents with an update and to hear their experiences over the last month.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/03/2020 16:20:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1180299

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Flood Control: Prestolee
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the government plans to allocate funding to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	20431
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>Allocation of funding to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee will depend on the outcomes of the Spending Review for funding beyond March 2021. The Environment Agency will work with partners to secure other funding sources in addition to Government funding and local levy support from the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/03/2020 16:04:24 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1216917

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Development Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Official Development Assistance programmes that his Department funds focus on supporting women and girls.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	63288
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2020 answer text <p>Defra’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes deliver primarily on climate and biodiversity objectives but consideration is given to the contribution of all activities to reducing gender inequality, in line with the Gender Equality Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>Some Defra ODA-funded programmes directly support women and girls, such as the International Climate Finance Blue Forests Initiative in Madagascar and Indonesia, a £10.1 million project to reduce the deforestation of mangrove habitat, create new sustainable livelihoods, support community health and women's empowerment and increase climate resilience in coastal communities. The Darwin Initiative funds hundreds of biodiversity projects worldwide, including the 'Partnering with Business for Restoration of Mt Kenya ecosystem services' project, which has worked with women in community-based organisations in Kenya, supporting them to fill leadership positions where they can voice their concerns and positively contribute to community-led initiatives.</p><p> </p><p>Further examples of Darwin projects that have supported women and girls can be found in a recent Darwin Initiative newsletter: <a href="http://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/assets/uploads/Darwin-Newsletter-March-2020-Gender-Equality-Empowerment-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">www.darwininitiative.org.uk/assets/uploads/Darwin-Newsletter-March-2020-Gender-Equality-Empowerment-FINAL.pdf</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/07/2020 13:19:43 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1242863

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Flood Control
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to reduce flood risk to communities that experienced flooding in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	102742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2020 answer text <p>This government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. In March 2020, we announced a record £5.2 billion investment to build 2,000 new flood defences over the next 6 years. This investment will better protect 336,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion. The government also announced a £120 million package to repair assets damaged as a result of last winter’s flooding – recognising the importance that maintenance of assets has on ensuring our network of defences are effective in a changing climate.</p><p> </p><p>The government published a long-term Policy Statement in July setting out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement outlines five ambitious policies and over 40 supporting actions which we will take to accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change. These actions will help to reduce the likelihood of flooding and coastal erosion and ensure that we are better prepared to reduce impacts when flooding happens.</p><p> </p><p>In July, we announced an additional £170 million to accelerate the building of 22 flood schemes across the country. In addition to our investment in the flood and coastal defences we are also investing £200 million between 2021 and 2027 to support 25 local areas – urban, rural and coastal – to test innovative actions to improve resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.</p><p> </p><p>Following the flooding events in November 2019 and February 2020, the Environment Agency (EA) has carried out approximately 20,000 post-incident inspections. These inspections are now complete and the results have been used to plan projects for the EA’s recovery programme that will deliver asset repairs. The EA are making sure that any flood defences and equipment damaged during last winter’s floods are either fixed or will have robust contingency plans, such as temporary defences, in place by 31 October.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/10/2020 15:17:49 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1242864

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Floods: Insurance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of access to insurance for households affected by 2019-20 winter floods.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	102743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2020 answer text <p>The 2019-20 winter floods impacted communities across the country both in November 2019 and February 2020. The November 2019 flooding mainly impacted South Yorkshire, in particular Doncaster where over 760 households and businesses were severely affected.</p><p>Flood Re is a joint government and industry initiative launched in 2016 to improve the availability and affordability of flood insurance for households at high flood risk. In 2019/20 Flood Re provided cover for over 196,000 household policies. More than 300,000 properties have benefitted since the scheme’s launch.</p><p> </p><p>Flood Re is available through more than 85 insurance brands representing 94% of the home insurance market.</p><p> </p><p>Research has found that before the introduction of Flood Re, only 9% of householders who had made prior flood claims could get quotes from two or more insurers, with 0% being able to get quotes from five or more. Since May 2019, 99% of households with prior flood claims can now receive quotes from five or more insurers. Four out of five householders with a prior flood claim saw price reductions of over 50%.</p><p>In December 2019, the Government commissioned an independent review into the affordability and availability of insurance in Doncaster. The review, led by Amanda Blanc, will be fully considered by Ministers and published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/10/2020 16:48:28 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1285730

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2021
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Development Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance his Department was allocated in the financial years (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21; and what estimate his Department has made of the amount of Official Development Assistance his Department will be allocated for the financial year 2021-22.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	152450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>HM Treasury has published departmental allocations of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 2019-20, here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-aid-tackling-global-challenges-in-the-national-interest/official-development-assistance-oda-allocation-by-department" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-aid-tackling-global-challenges-in-the-national-interest/official-development-assistance-oda-allocation-by-department</a>. This table confirms Defra’s ODA allocation for financial year 2019/20 was £81m.</p><p> </p><p>Outturn information of 2019 calendar year ODA spend are available in the Statistics of International Development publication: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fcollections%2Fstatistics-on-international-development&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpaul.wallis%40defra.gov.uk%7Ce1ef3134fb5945d49e3008d8cf43e7b8%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C1%7C0%7C637487238088289839%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=2SWiH6dd%2BzpUa%2FgfrxyYRE9xbyur%2FH7L3IwnP6n9bLE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has committed to publishing departmental allocations of ODA for 2020/21 in due course. Outturn information of 2020 calendar year ODA spend will be published later this year, as normal, in the Statistics of International Development publication: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fcollections%2Fstatistics-on-international-development&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpaul.wallis%40defra.gov.uk%7Ce1ef3134fb5945d49e3008d8cf43e7b8%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C1%7C0%7C637487238088289839%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=2SWiH6dd%2BzpUa%2FgfrxyYRE9xbyur%2FH7L3IwnP6n9bLE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Foreign Secretary recently published departmental ODA allocations for 2021-22, including HM Treasury’s allocation, in a Written Ministerial Statement available online here: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-statements%2Fdetail%2F2021-01-26%2Fhcws735&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpaul.wallis%40defra.gov.uk%7Ce1ef3134fb5945d49e3008d8cf43e7b8%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C1%7C0%7C637487238088299836%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=C%2FFncIQ7VuMmo5iG7n0VFbqOO%2Bd3xVFzZL78KLw2wLs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-01-26/hcws735</a>. This statement confirms Defra’s £92m ODA allocation for financial year 2021/22.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 22/02/2021 15:18:04 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi